United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh has entered the race to succeed António Guterres as United Nations Secretary-General. She helped ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza while serving as the UAE’s ambassador to the UN. Nusseibeh, 48, of Palestinian origin, is known for her support for the Palestinian cause and the two-state solution. Her candidacy has also received the support of the State of Palestine.
However, her candidacy has been accompanied by criticism of the Emirates’ role in the conflict in Sudan.
The country is accused of supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been accused of genocide by two successive US administrations. Nusseibeh was one of the diplomats to deny reports that the Emirates had supplied weapons to these forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Her entry into the race has also drawn opposition from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). In a letter to the UN Security Council, the grouping opposed her candidacy, arguing that it came at a time when consensus was building that the UN chief should go to a representative from their Region. Nusseibeh justified her delayed candidacy by citing the deadlock in the race. After six rounds of voting, none of the candidates had managed to secure a clear lead.
In the last preliminary vote, on October 16, Rebecca Greenspan of Costa Rica was in the lead. She had the support of nine members of the Security Council, but five members had expressed opposition to her candidacy. This makes it difficult for her to become a candidate acceptable to all parties.
Other candidates include Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, Guyana’s UN representative Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu and former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa. António Guterres is expected to step down at the end of the year.
In her program, Nusseibeh emphasizes that the main challenge of the UN is to restore trust between states and strengthen international cooperation. Her candidacy has also received support from several diplomatic figures. Brett McGurk, former senior national security adviser in the Biden administration, has praised her for her work on humanitarian aid to Gaza. Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, who heads Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Board, has also praised her ability to build bridges of cooperation between the parties.
However, human rights activists oppose her candidacy due to the human rights situation in the Emirates and accusations of RSF’s support for Sudan.
A 2024 report by a UN panel of experts found credible allegations of arms smuggling from the Emirates to these forces. One of the strongest critics of the candidacy is Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch. He has criticized Nusseibeh’s denials of any Emirati military, logistical, financial or political support to parties in the Sudanese conflict.
For their part, the Emirates declare that they support the establishment of a civilian government in Sudan.